TY - JOUR
T1 - Screening and intervention for domestic violence during pregnancy care : a systematic review
AU - O'Reilly, Rebecca
AU - Beale, Barbara
AU - Gillies, Donna
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Domestic violence (DV) against women during pregnancy affects many women and unborn infants worldwide. Pregnancy presents a window of opportunity for health care providers to identify DV and provide appropriate intervention. The aim of this systematic review was to appraise the effectiveness of DV screening and interventions for women identified for DV through screening in pregnancy. The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO were searched from January 1995 to November 2009 to identify potentially relevant studies. Studies using any comparative methodology from both national and international arenas were included but had to be in the English language. Nine studies (13 references) met the inclusion criteria, five for screening and four for interventions. Of the five screening studies, the identification of DV was significantly higher compared to studies that used a nonstandardized screen or no screen at all. There was also evidence that recurrent screening throughout the pregnancy further increased identification rates. There was some evidence that interventions for pregnant women who had experienced DV reduced the amount of violence experienced by these women, but the evidence is very limited by the small number of randomized studies with small participant numbers. Further research is required to establish the most effective interventions for women who are identified at risk of DV during pregnancy.
AB - Domestic violence (DV) against women during pregnancy affects many women and unborn infants worldwide. Pregnancy presents a window of opportunity for health care providers to identify DV and provide appropriate intervention. The aim of this systematic review was to appraise the effectiveness of DV screening and interventions for women identified for DV through screening in pregnancy. The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO were searched from January 1995 to November 2009 to identify potentially relevant studies. Studies using any comparative methodology from both national and international arenas were included but had to be in the English language. Nine studies (13 references) met the inclusion criteria, five for screening and four for interventions. Of the five screening studies, the identification of DV was significantly higher compared to studies that used a nonstandardized screen or no screen at all. There was also evidence that recurrent screening throughout the pregnancy further increased identification rates. There was some evidence that interventions for pregnant women who had experienced DV reduced the amount of violence experienced by these women, but the evidence is very limited by the small number of randomized studies with small participant numbers. Further research is required to establish the most effective interventions for women who are identified at risk of DV during pregnancy.
UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/555068
U2 - 10.1177/1524838010378298
DO - 10.1177/1524838010378298
M3 - Article
SN - 1524-8380
VL - 11
SP - 190
EP - 201
JO - Trauma , Violence , and Abuse
JF - Trauma , Violence , and Abuse
IS - 4
ER -